


long night, dark path

by chancellorxofxtrash



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragon Age Fusion, Circle of Magi, Dragon Age Lore, Dragon Age-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Multi, Possession, Rite of Tranquility, i explain dragon age terms you do not need to know the games, tranquility is examined, typical templar abuse is what i mean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28437897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chancellorxofxtrash/pseuds/chancellorxofxtrash
Summary: Discovering he was a mage stripped Manjoume from all future prospects he ever had.So now he just had to survive.Even if death, and worse things were hanging over his head.Even if Judai was obviously communicating with spirits.Even if he had seen what the worst possible outcome is.He just had to survive, and he didn't care if Judai will make it or not. (Or maybe he did.)But when one day, a pair of Grey Wardens, including a smug elf named Edo arrive to the Circle, Manjoume can tell, that it was gonna be the beginning of the end.
Relationships: Manjoume Jun | Chazz Princeton/Edo Phoenix | Aster Phoenix/Yuuki Judai | Jaden Yuki
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	long night, dark path

**Author's Note:**

> What's this? Another AU that is getting out of hand from me? Maybe.

He made everyone call him Manjoume.

People scoffed at him, obviously.

“Oh right. You are a _Manjoume,”_ They would say with a mocking tone. “Those names don’t mean anything here anymore.”

In fact, that was exactly what his brothers told him, what their parents told him, when the templars came for him.

“You are no longer a Manjoume,” They said, their eyes cold. “Do not taint our name anymore.”

They didn’t even bring him to an Orlesian Circles - instead they took him to Starkhaven.

He figured it could have been worse.

They could have sent him to Ferelden.

So obviously when they asked his name, he lifted his chin, and said _Manjoume._

A templar kicked him in the back for it, but it was worth it.

(Manjoume was five years old then.)

Ah yes. The _templars_ especially got a kick out of Manjoume calling himself that. Of course people knew his first name - the templars liked to yell it after him, and even some of the older Enchanters called him that, resigned.

One time, when he got too loud about his name, the templars threw him into solitary confinement for a week.

That’s when he first talked with Judai.

Well, Judai had talked to Manjoume before. They slept next to each other, after all.

And a bunch of other apprentices, but that was not the same.

The apprentices held together - the elder ones looked after the younger ones, still trying to get used to the new living place. Manjoume had no need for any of that, he was perfectly happy and content with this new situation.

He was going to be fine.

...as soon as he got out of the solitary, that is.

Judai was a small, scrawny kid, chattery, never shutting up, and apparently he fit in through the walls easily.

The tower was full of holes, an old building, after all, and appeared from the wall, carrying an apple, and extending it towards Manjoume, with a toothy grin.

“I’m not hungry!” Manjoume snapped, but his growling stomach betrayed him.

“I think you should eat anyways,” Judai continued, seemingly oblivious. “Dunno when will the templars remember you are here. Can’t sneak a lot of food, they’ll notice. Not enough pockets in these robes.”

“What if they're gonna hear you come here? Idiot.”

“They ain’t gonna. They are having a Harrowing up there so…” Judai shrugged. “B’sides, Yubel gonna tell me if somethin’s up.”

With that, and without explaining anything, Judai just rolled the apple inside to Manjoume, and went back to the hole he crawled out from, disappearing in the walls.

Manjoume did end up eating the apple, his growling stomach won.

He didn’t think a lot about who _Yubel_ was. He didn’t know any apprentices and mages by name, after all.

Maybe Judai got someone else to help him out, like the idiot he was.

Then of course, eventually Manjoume found out who Yubel really was.

And he really ended up wishing he hadn’t.

~*~

Judai was so obviously from Ferelden, and Manjoume hated it, but Judai didn’t seem to mind. Judai seemed to like the cats that roamed the tower, which was weird, because Manjoume heard Fereldans were all about dogs all the time.

Then again, maybe Judai was like a dog himself with his brown hair and wide brown eyes, and his goofy enthusiasm that not even the templars could control for long.

And a mouth that never shut up.

Everyone knew what made mages dangerous.

Everyone kept saying it.

Mages draw magic from the Fade - acting as beacons for all the demons on the other side, basically yelling at them as easy targets for possession.

If they don’t fight back, if they attract too much attention from the demons, if the templars _notice…_

They die.

That is, if they are lucky.

“Do you want to _die?_ ”

Years had passed, and Judai did not stop interacting with Yubel.

Sometimes Manjoume had seen… glimpses of Yubel.

Shadows that looked like wings surrounding Judai, and although Manjoume did not particularly believe in the Maker…

Yeah, no.

“One day, someone else will see that, and tell a templar,” Manjoume hissed, his grip tightening around Judai’s wrist.

“You didn’t tell anyone.”

“Because I do not want your blood on my hands, but others won’t care about that.”

There was a grin on Judai’s face, as he leaned forward, poking Manjoume's cheek.

“Awww. You care.”

Manjoume pushed Judai away and stormed off, and he heard laughter behind him.

And not just from Judai.

_Hey Big Brother, that was meaaaan. You do care about him!_

Manjoume ignored the voice.

He knew Judai must have noticed it too. He mentioned it a few times, he _asked_ about it, but Manjoume usually left him where he stood, but…

Truth of the matter was, he doesn’t know what the small yellow spirit was.

He hadn’t seen anything about anything like that in the books.

He figured Yubel might have been a sort of Desire demon, but Judai vehemently denied it, but he had no idea what the yellow… thing was.

 _I am not a demon,_ the yellow thing pouted. _I’m just a spirit! A friendly, helpful spirit!_

“You are not friendly, and not helpful, and will get me killed,” Manjoume gritted his teeth. “And now leave me alone.”

~*~

Ignore the spirits you see. Can’t shut them out completely, but the more you close them off, the less you interact with them, the least likely they are to discover you.

Survive until the Harrowing.

Whatever the Harrowing is, survive it, and then you won’t die and won’t…

It won’t be worse.

He would have to go pray to Andraste - he didn’t think much of her, really.

But being there meant that they considered him behaving, so that was always something.

(In reality, Manjoume was sure nobody considered him behaving, seeing as the years and the sharp tongues and heavy kicks of the templars did not curb his sharp tongue _at all._ But he kept to the rules. It had to be enough right? It had to be enough.)

Everyone knew what it meant. If they are not considered strong enough to go through the Harrowing (whatever it was), and then you can’t be… you can’t be…

Sure, they _could_ still be killed if they prove to be a danger. But being killed is the better option.

Not the _worst_ one.

~*~

The Tranquil were usually working on enchantments.

They were mages - apprentices, like Manjoume, once.

One of them, Misawa, was brought in around the same time Manjoume was.

Manjoume remembered Misawa.

The Misawa who basically lived in the library, the Misawa who was almost a _nerd._ The Misawa, who would fill in long, long pages full of magical theory, excitedly explaining, wanting to get into as many branches of magic as he could have.

“Most mages specialize in one thing,” Misawa had explained to Manjoume once, when they were about fifteen. “But consider - if you are a master of as many aspects of magic as possible, so more people would request your skills? You could be useful in many ways!”

“That’s not how it works,” Manjoume sneered. “If someone wants a healer, they're gonna ask for healers. If someone wants an arcane warrior, they are gonna ask for one. Nobody is gonna ask for someone who dabbles a bit of everything.”

“And what about mages in Orlais? You are from there, are you not?”

“Usually mages at the Court are barely more than decorated pets as far as the Orlesian nobility are concerned. Not a big career. Not a lot of them can break out of it, and only if they are established Enchanters and good at playing the Game.”

“I could be good at playing the Game!”

“You would be absolutely rubbish at playing the Game.”

The Game.

The Orlesian Court’s backstabbing song and dance and intrigue - Manjoume’s family never shut up about it. They always said the brothers will have to be masters of it, if they want to seize power in the Empire.

Misawa’s eyes were sparkling from amusement.

“But what if… what if I really study _everything?_ I learn _all_ that magic can teach?”

Manjoume’s blood ran cold.

“...you can’t mean…”

“Yes I do!” Misawa nodded enthusiastically. “Magic is just a _tool._ I’m sure I can use it to useful means! I know it can be used well!”

“I am not listening to this any longer!” Manjoume jumped to his feet, his heart was beating in his throat. “If you want to get yourself possessed or worse, it’s your call, but I want to know nothing about it!”

Deep inside, Manjoume knew he should have reported this.

It was the rule of the Game too - everything to win. Everything to survive.

Tell the First Enchanter. Make yourself be the good guy. So nobody will suspect _your_ secret.

He passed the First Enchanter’s quarters that day three times.

He didn’t go in.

Instead, he lay down, and just stared at Judai’s sleeping form.

In a week, Misawa went missing, and popped up between the other Tranquil.

The First Enchanted called Manjoume to his quarters, his eyes staring into his soul.

“Did you know about it?”

“No,” Manjoume lied.

“I see. Loyalty to your friends is admirable, Jun. But not if your friends stray down from the path. Blood magic, demons pose a danger to us all. Do not make the mistake of inviting danger on all of us just to save your friend. Do you have anything else to tell me, Jun?”

“...no. No I do not. Can I leave now?”

He passed by the Tranquils on his way back, and saw Misawa working on enchantments.

Tranquil had no magic anymore.

They also did not have any free will anymore.

Whatever the templars did to these mages they deemed dangerous - it cut them off from the Fade, from the magic - and their emotions, their drive to act on anything.

Misawa was not Misawa anymore. Not the nerd who would analyse everything and then tell it to anyone, whether they listened or not.

Misawa was like a puppet version of himself with empty eyes and that damned brand of the Chantry on his forehead.

Manjoume won’t end up like that.

No way.

Absolutely not.

(If they find out about the yellow spirit, _he will._ )

(...and if they find out about Yubel, so will Judai.)

~*~

Being a Tranquil was a fate worse than death.

It was a fact.

Misawa was not even Misawa anymore, not even a shadow, he was just… there.

If the templars find out about the yellow thing following Manjoume, or the winged demon following Judai, they will also be made Tranquil.

Also fact.

(Well, they might also be killed, but that’s the less severe option here.)

So Manjoume kept ignoring his yellow spirit when he was awake, but when he opened his eyes in his dreams in the Fade, he looked at it.

“What do you want? Possessing me?”

“What? Nononono!” The yellow spirit reacted with violently shaking his head. “I had seen where you live! Lots of templars and mages who would strike me down! I’m not terribly strong, you know. Not as strong as all those spirits who call themselves different emotions, you know. I’m just an Ojama, a… I doubt I could be strong enough to possess a nug, really.”

“So what do you want?”

“I do still want to see the human world,” The Ojama admitted, and he looked almost… shy? Embarrassed, definitely. “And around you, I can peek through the Fade a little.”

“If anyone sees you, we are most likely both dead, you know that, right!”

“Nobody will see me!”

“Judai did.”

“Well, Judai has his own.”

“...what can you tell me about the spirit haunting Judai?”

“I don’t know every spirit in the Fade, you know,” The Ojama tilted his head. “But I think they had been with Judai for a long time.”

“...keep an eye out on them. And shut up when you are… peeking through. If you don’t want to die. And keep an eye out whenever we are spied on.”

He couldn’t get rid of the Ojama, so better use the fact that he was haunted by one.

And someone did snitch about Misawa, and somehow the First Enchanter knew that Manjoume knew about Misawa’s plans.

Most mages did not want to be made Tranquil.

Manjoume couldn’t blame others for saving their skin, but he will make sure it won’t happen again.

He will make it to the Harrowing.

He will survive his Harrowing.

He will make sure Judai will do so as well.

~*~

It wasn’t that he _cared_ for Judai as a person, really. Judai, even after all these years was annoying, obnoxious and loud, even after he broke out one of his teeth at one point when he _fell down the stairs_.

If anything, Judai was a bother.

But…

Judai with a spirit in his steps, just like Manjoume.

His laughter, the way his eyes shined.

Another mage, stripped from his family that he never talked about.

The way he had no sense of personal space, often grabbing Manjoume’s hands, and the way Manjoume would feel his cheeks heating up.

The way the lights disappeared from Misawa’s eyes, and the thought of the same thing happening to Judai.

No.

Absolutely not.

As annoying as Judai was, he certainly didn’t deserve that.

“Your friend seems to be more relaxed around you lately. Did you talk with him? What is his name?”

“You are talking nonsense,” Manjoume sneered. “And your nonsense will get us killed.”

“It’s okay! Yu---”

_“If you say their name, I swear to the Maker’s name---”_

Judai smiled in a sly way, pressing a finger to his lips in a conspiratory motion.

“My lips are sealed.”

Manjoume sighed.

“Keeping you alive will be the death of me.”

“You care!”

“Shut up.”

~*~

Things went alright for the next three years.

If they were suspected of communicating with spirits, nobody said anything. The templars were templars as always. Manjoume got better with throwing thunder and arcane bolts around while Judai gleefully dropped fireballs and froze things. (But Manjoume noticed he had a knack for entropy spells too, and he wondered if that really only did come from Judai.)

Things went fine.

One of these days, they will surely go through the Harrowing.

They just had to hold out until then.

That was when the Grey Wardens arrived at Starkhaven's Circle, and predictably, that’s when everything went to shit.

Grey Wardens were heroes of legend - a secretive order only created to combat darkspawn, to stop them from destroying everything in their path. Grey Wardens would do _anything_ to do that.

But if they were here, that meant nothing good.

Manjoume, Judai and some other apprentices peeked through the corners, glancing at the two Grey Wardens.

The taller one was... 

…

The taller one was a mage.

He was human, but tall for a human, long hair held together firmly, wearing the Grey Wardens’ blue armor, the staff on his back.

Next to him was an elf - obviously much shorter, with pointy ears, thinner frame, his silver hair also held back together in a loose ponytail. His face was not marked, so obviously not one of the Dalish elves. He carried two daggers on his side - a rogue, probably.

Then the elf turned his head, his pale eyes fixating on the apprentices looking at them, and Manjoume heard his Ojama let out a squeak before disappearing back to the Fade.

“They look super interesting don’t you think so, Manjoume?” Judai whispered, obviously fascinated by the Grey Wardens.

“Let’s hope they leave quickly,” Manjoume hissed back, as the elven Warden finally turned his gaze away from them. “Wardens never take vacations anywhere.”

“You can’t know that! There can’t be darkspawn to fight _all_ the time. The Blight ended a year ago!”

“Exactly. _So why are they here?”_

Judai shrugged off the question, and Manjoume couldn’t shake the feeling that this was the beginning of the end.

~*~

Fact: darkspawn are a problem most of the time.

Obviously Manjoume had never seen a darkspawn. The ancestral home of the Manjoume family never had a darkspawn problem and they never were inside the Circle either. But he knew they existed, everyone knew they were a problem.

Fact: they are the biggest problem during a Blight.

A Blight happens when an archdemon wakes up to lead the darkspawn to wage war on the surface. Blah, blah. Everyone knows that.

Fact: there was a Blight which ended a year ago in Ferelden.

Only a Grey Warden can kill an archdemon.

Grey Wardens do anything to stop the darkspawn.

The Blight ended.

_Why were they in Starkhaven?_

~*~

“Excuse me. Which part of the library helps with arcane warrior knowledge?”

Manjoume glanced up from his book.

It was the elven warden standing in front of him.

“Why you ask? That’s mage knowledge. You aren’t a mage.”

The guy looked amused.

“Awfully protective of mage knowledge. Are you even a Mage yet? Have you gone through your Harrowing?”

“How do you even _know_ about the Harrowing?” Manjoume snapped, and the elf grinned.

“Wardens have knowledge about a lot of things, you know.”

Manjoume snorted, and turned back to his book, but the elf didn’t stop.

“Your accent. Orlesian?”

“Your attitude. Vint?”

“Now you are just making no sense. I’m from Kirkwall, if interested.”

“I’m not. I bet life in the alienage was a lot of fun for you.”

“Sure it would have been, but I never lived there.”

“Bullshit. Every elf lives in alienages except for the Dalish. And you have no face markings like the Dalish do.”

“You sure think you are knowledgeable about the outside world, despite having been locked up here.”

Manjoume threw his book at the elf, which he caught easily. Glancing at it, he smirked.

“Oh look. A book I was looking for. Thank you.”

“Choke on it.”

~*~

“I hate him and he lies.”

“Edo? You mean Edo?”

“Who’s Edo?”

“One of the Wardens. The elven one,” Judai twirled his hair around his finger. “Talked with him today. Interesting guy.”

“A liar. Claims to be from Kirkwall, but never had been living in an alienage.”

All elves who lived in cities lived in alienages.

Fact.

“Maybe he was a servant?” Judai tilted his head. “It’s possible he lived at some noble’s house.”

“He sure doesn’t act like a former servant.”

There was something about Edo, this weird elven Warden that made Manjoume’s stomach twist. Maybe the smug attitude, the way he carried himself.

Something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

~*~

“Have you heard the theory that Andraste might have been a mage?”

Manjoume was standing in front of Andraste’s statue when Edo spoke up behind him, and Manjoume glanced back.

“As if the Chantry would revere her, if she was.”

“Do you think they would admit it, even if it’s the truth?” Edo walked closer, eyebrows raised. “They would even often lie about Shartan’s identity. They would say he was a human instead of an elf. The chantry would rather forget that part of Andraste’s story, her having fought for elven freedom as well. It’s so easy to pretend there was nothing magical about Andraste.”

“What makes you think there _was?”_ Manjoume raised his eyebrows, and Edo snorted.

“Mentions about how he heard the voices of the _Maker…_ it would make sense, would it not?”

“So you think Andraste was a mage, and the Maker a… demon? Is that what you are suggesting? Because I think if a templar would hear us now, they would probably stab us both.”

“They wouldn’t dare to touch me,” Edo said nonchalantly. “And no, not a demon. A _spirit.”_

“...how would you even know about things like this?”

“Saiou tells me a lot,” Edo shrugged. “He is my senior Warden. And he _is_ a mage, as you no doubt had seen it.”

“No mage would suggest such blasphemy as you speak.”

“No mage in Circles would suggest it,” Edo corrected him, smirking. “Saiou doesn’t belong to any Circles anymore. He is a Grey Warden. The Chantry has no power over him.”

~*~

“Why are you even here?”

Finding privacy in the Circle was easier when there was a Grey Warden who wanted to hang out with you, apparently.

Judai was hanging on Edo’s every word, and Manjoume was standing next to him, all nerves on high alert, the Ojama (and probably Yubel, knowing them and Judai) were looking for any danger.

Edo seemed _too_ nonchalant, all things considered.

“Even though the Blight is over, there are not a lot of Grey Wardens left, and the Blight left more questions than answers,” Edo said simply. “So that’s why we are here.”

“Looking for recruits? Is that why you are here?”

“Potentially,” Edo shrugged. “But Saiou also wanted to check out some books that are only available here, in the Starkhaven Circle. If we find no recruits, it’s no problem.”

Grey Wardens are out from Chantry supervision.

Templars can’t touch them.

Saiou was a mage, who could walk freely.

“Why don’t you conscript us?”

Manjoume heard himself say it, and both Judai’s and Edo’s eyes got fixed on him.

“I mean come on,” Manjoume grinned, pointing at Edo. “I’m a _good_ mage. It would be a loss to not take me.”

“Oh yeah!” Judai perked up. “It sounds super cool! Why aren’t you taking us?”

“ _Cool?”_ Edo raises his eyebrows. “What do you think a Grey Warden is? It’s not just something fancy you can dress up as.”

“I know that,” Manjoume sneered, but Edo interrupted him.

“No you don’t. You live sheltered in this Circle you have _no idea_ what being a Grey Warden is like. You have no idea what fighting darkspawn is like.”

“And you do?!” Manjoume snapped back. “Did you even fight in the Blight? Everyone knows only a few Wardens fought there now. And you lived in _Kirkwall._ The Blight was in _Ferelden._ ”

“Manjoume…” Judai started, raising his hand, and Edo’s eyes narrowed.

“I had joined the Order since the Blight ended, yes. It doesn’t mean I never fought darkspawn. You have no _idea_ what you are talking about. You are a _child,_ chasing after some _fantasies._ You know _nothing_ of the outside world, let alone about the _darkspawn._ This is an order where we take our mission seriously - it’s not for children who just want to _run away from home._ ”

Manjoume lounged forward, trying to hit Edo on the face, but Edo ducked out of the way easily, making Manjoume stumble. Judai jumped after him, trying to catch him, but Manjoume shook him off.

“You have no idea what you are talking about,” Manjoume hissed, glaring at Edo. “You tell me I have no idea of the outside world - then you have no idea what is it like being inside. You have no idea… get off your high horse, Grey Warden. If you aren’t helping, leave us alone. There is no reason for you to rub your superiority in our faces.”

~*~

“I don’t think he meant to rub it in our faces. I just think he didn’t like us being that enthusiastic about being Grey Wardens.”

“Doesn’t matter what he meant. I hope he and his buddy get lost soon.”

Joining the Grey Wardens was not an option. So back to the first plan. Survive the Harrowing.

“Manjoume…”

“He has no idea,” Manjoume snapped. “He has no idea what being out from Chantry rule would mean to us.”

“You can’t know that. Remember, he is an elf.”

“An elf, who never lived in the alienage, and can talk blasphemy about Andraste without fear of anyone skewering him for it. Yeah. Not the same. He can get fucked.”

“...You are afraid of them not letting us do the Harrowing aren’t you?”

Silence.

Judai continued silently.

“I mean… they found out about Misawa’s research. Who’s to say they don’t know about---”

“Don’t. Don’t say it.”

Judai didn’t finish it.

Even the walls had ears in the Circle.

“...Yubel told me they aren’t gonna let me become a Tranquil.”

“And that’s not foreboding _at all._ ”

“...Manjoume, if that happens…”

“No. Don’t even.”

“Manjoume I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“And you won’t. Shut up. We won’t be made Tranquil, we will go through the Harrowing and everything will be fine.”

“But if--- then please, Manjoume.”

“Shut up. Shut the hell up.”

“Manjoume… _Jun----_ ”

Ever since he came here, he hated hearing his first name, and Judai never called him that.

But now, when Manjoume kissed him to _make him shut the hell up,_ it felt like he didn’t mind the way his first name tasted on Judai’s lips.

~*~

“If I implied that you have it easy in the Circle, then you have my apologies. I am aware of the hardships you all have to face here.”

Manjoume was standing in front of the Andraste statue again when Edo approached him, and he glanced back at him.

“...I didn’t mean to imply you had it easy either. But you were still talking bullshit about the Circle.”

“And you were still talking _bullshit_ about my life, so we are even.”

Manjoume nodded reluctantly, turning back towards Andraste.

“Are you a believer?”

“Depends on who’s asking. If the Templars ask, then absolutely.”

“What if a Grey Warden is asking?”

“Then the answer is that I am a fan of the idea of Andraste coming back to life.”

Edo snorted.

“I understand you want to get out of Chantry supervision,” Edo said simply. “I was trying to point out being a Grey Warden has aspects nobody is aware of until they join.”

“Do you regret it?”

Edo’s pale eyes fixed at Manjoume, and he didn’t back down, before repeating his question.

“Do you? I do not know your past, what led you there. And you do not know mine. But do you regret it?”

“I do not,” Edo admitted. “And I might not know your past, but I am aware of my future, what waits for me.”

“I wish I would have _that_ luxury.”

Edo, for once, seemed to have no answer to that.

~*~

It wasn’t like nothing happened.

Edo did visit to talk to Judai and Manjoume from time to time, seemingly when he got bored of following Saiou around, whatever research he was doing in the libraries of the Circle.

There was some tension in the air, neither of them really stopped thinking about that argument between Manjoume and Edo.

Until one day…

Until one day, something went horribly, terribly wrong.

Manjoume wasn’t there to see it happen, he was on the other end of the library, but he heard an inhuman, primal screech, the kind you _never_ want to hear. The kind that he only read about in books.

The screech of a demon who successfully possessed a mage’s body.

The screech of an _abomination._

The templars were supposed to be the ones to stop it from happening, but Manjoume saw a templar being thrown through the library, his body slamming against the wall in an _unnatural_ angle, and collapsing to the ground.

Not moving.

(It was Ser Morris, he recognized. Of course Manjoume recognized him, he lived together with these templars for the better half of his life.)

(He wasn’t gonna stop and grieve him, and let’s just leave it at that.)

He stood up, holding onto his staff, running towards the commotion, and in the middle of it stood Saiou.

Saiou was the senior Warden who arrived, and he didn’t know anything else about him, but now - now he was standing there, his long hair undone and sticking in different directions, his fingers long and clawed, his teeth sharp, and there was a bright glow that surrounded him, and he was _laughing._

“Saiou!”

It was Edo’s voice, and he sounded _desperate_ and his face mirrored the sheer panic that Manjoume himself felt.

“The Blights… the Blights need to stop. And a Grey Warden has to do what they have to do,” There was a twisted grin on Saiou’s face. “And the Spirit of Light can help me.”

Lightning erupted everywhere from Saiou’s body, destroying bookcases, and Manjoume’s body moved on its own - jumping over a ruined table, landing in front of Edo, and then suddenly there was a barrier absorbing the lightning.

Manjoume didn’t summon the barrier.

He glanced behind his shoulder, and his heart skipped a beat.

Edo was holding his two daggers in his hands, but he extended one of his hands in a fist, and the barrier was _coming from his hand._

Edo was _using magic._

“Wha---”

The tower shook again, and from the ground a lot of weird beings came up - twisted, glowing monstrosities.

Then they got frozen in ice.

“Come on! Edo! Manjoume!” Judai’s voice rang, as he finished summoning the ice walls. “We need to get out of here!”

“Not without Saiou!” Edo barked back, and Manjoume moved, grabbing Edo’s arm.

“We will come back for him, but now we need to live before that, you _idiot.”_

It took both Judai and him to drag Edo out of the library and the destruction that was escaping Saiou’s body.

~*~

“You’re a mage. For Maker’s sake, you are a _mage._ ”

Edo was quiet in the room they barricaded themselves in.

“Saiou weakened the Veil between the Fade and this world, letting demons to manifest here.”

The voice was one Manjoume only heard a few times, in his dreams, but it made him shudder.

He sometimes did see Yubel, mostly their wings flickering in the shadows.

Now, they were hovering above Judai, spreading their wings protectively around them.

“Why would he do that?” Judai looked at Yubel.

“It’s debatable how much it’s him now, and how much is it the spirit that is possessing him.”

“Spirit or demon?” It was the first thing Edo had asked since he was dragged in there, and there was a thin smile on Yubel’s lips.

“There isn’t that much of a difference than what you would like it to believe, Edo Phoenix.”

Edo snorted, and Manjoume turned back to him incredulously.

“You are a _mage._ ”

“Yes, you already voiced that astute observation, Manjoume.”

“Is that why you said you never lived in an alienage? Because you lived in a Circle?”

“I did not.”

_“Stop speaking in a cryptic way!”_

“Are you gonna lecture me about lying?” Edo snapped back, glaring at Manjoume. “No, I will not walk all around the continent with a staff on my back to yell at everyone that I have magic. You don’t survive the templars this long out there without having some self-preservation skills. Besides I am not the one fraternizing with _spirits._ ”

Edo gestured towards both Yubel, and the faint Ojama also floating around Manjoume, poking around curiously, only to go invisible again upon Edo’s glare.

And Manjoume couldn’t help snapping back.

“No it’s just your buddy who does that.”

Edo’s face turned blank again, turning away.

“...I need to get to Saiou before the templars do.”

“We’re gonna help,” Judai said immediately.

“I can’t ask either of you that.”

“Yeah, well,” Manjoume shrugged. “You can’t dissuade Judai from whatever he wants to do. And I’m not gonna let that idiot walk into trouble alone, so you are stuck with us.”

There was a shadow of a smile - almost grateful - on Edo’s face, before he turned towards Yubel.

“You should be as invisible as possible, though. We do not need templars standing in our way.”

~*~

Getting close to Saiou was the easy part.

Even through the destruction, getting close to him was the easy part.

“I do not want to kill him,” Edo had said on the way to the library where Saiou was still rampaging. “There needs to be some other way.”

If there was, Manjoume had failed to see it that way.

The demon (it had to be a demon right, no _spirit_ would do _this_ , right) was attacking them back, twisting Saiou’s face into something almost unrecognizable.

There was no way to get physically close to him, so even Edo was forced to use his magic, and it really seemed like he needed his daggers to do so, which would have been _fascinating_ if they wouldn’t have had to keep dodging lightning bolts.

Manjoume tripped, and one of them hit him, sending him flying, and there was _pain, so much pain,_ and he heard two voices yell his name _or was it three,_ it was hard to keep track, and then…

And then.

Fire.

Fire everywhere, and another inhuman scream, and when Manjoume could push himself back to his feet, holding himself up with his staff, he was almost wishing he would have stayed down.

In the middle of the firestorm, Judai stood, his staff lowered, and fire dancing around him - and also between Saiou and Manjoume.

His head was also lowered, but when he raised his head, his eyes…

His eyes were glowing, and they were _a different colour._

Then he moved, and on his arms were heavy scales, and the next fireball he sent out left his hand, and not his staff, and Saiou was knocked away, but laughed maniacally.

“Seems like he understands that desperate times call for desperate measures!”

“No…”

Manjoume muttered, pushing himself to his feet, and moving towards Judai.

He didn’t pay attention to Saiou anymore, and he had no idea where Edo was, but Judai, Judai…

_Judai._

Judai stopped moving, but outside there was yelling - templars, trying to find their way inside.

And Manjoume wasn’t thinking, he tackled Judai, knocking both of them down to the ground, and Manjoume refused to let him go, and tried not to think about how much heavier he seemed just like from this.

“Judai, it’s over, please, you gotta stop, okay, you gotta…” No response. “... _Yubel._ Yubel, you hear them, right? What do you think, what will they do to Judai, if they see you like this? To see him like this?”

Judai’s hands tightened around Manjoume’s waist, and Manjoume winced from the sharp claws digging into his skin, but he just raised his head, looking into Judai’s mismatched eyes.

“You care about him, don’t you? He’s going to _die_ if they see him like this. _Please,_ Yubel.”

Crackling, burning wood.

Elven curses, and then there was another body, landing on top of Manjoume - and then he saw two daggers being stabbed to the ground next to them, invoking a barrier around them.

Edo was heavier than he looked, for an elf, but Manjoume figured it was mostly the armor’s fault.

“We are _all_ gonna die,” Edo hissed into Manjoume’s ear. “Judai, Yubel, whichever one of you is doing this… _stop._ ”

Judai’s eyes flickered, as they regained their original brown colour, before closing, clearly passing out from exhaustion.

“Good…” Manjoume muttered. “Good.”

And promptly passed out as well, just as he faintly heard something exploding around them.

~*~

Manjoume wasn’t surprised the slightest to find himself tied up when he woke up.

Judai was not far away from him, also tied up, and both of them had two templars standing over them, hand on their swords.

Typical.

The tower - the Circle where he had lived for all these years had stopped burning but it was all blackened and it was still smoking. All of them - the mages, the templars, the apprentices, the Tranquil, all of them who got out were just… looking at the destruction.

“There is no way we can move back there,” The Knight-Commander of the Templars stationed at the Circle was pacing, while the First Enchanter looked after him nervously. “I had sent a letter to Kirkwall. As I heard their Circle isn’t fully packed… they might at least take the mages in, even if we are stationed elsewhere.”

“Sending us to Kirkwall?” The First Enchanter looked horrified. “To the _Gallows?_ ”

“You act like it’s a death sentence,” The templar brushed it off. “It’s just a name for the building. They will probably take at least the apprentices in. Which brings us to the problem of… those two.”

The Knight-Commander’s eyes got fixed on Manjoume and Judai, and Manjoume didn’t look away.

What was the point?

“That one is clearly the abomination,” The Knight-Commander pointed at Judai. “Therefore he needs to be killed. The other one definitely knew about it, so… we will send that one to Knight-Commander Meredith to Kirkwall. She knows how to deal with troublesome mage apprentices like him.”

Manjoume didn’t need to wonder.

He knew what templars did to mages who covered for abominations.

“Kill me,” Manjoume hissed. “Kill me, then.”

“Why would we?” The Knight-Commander smirked. “There is always use for Tranquil like you will be.”

Judai clenched his jaw, his eyes hardening, and Manjoume was shaking, and he started to have thoughts and---

“It’s not gonna happen.”

Edo Phoenix’s harsh voice rang out, as he pushed past the templars, putting himself between the Knight-Commander, and the two tied up mages.

Manjoume had always seen Edo look almost flawlessly tidied up, his hair tied together - now his hair was let down, messy, his skin still dark from the smoke and the fire, still bruised from the fight, and he held his daggers in his hands.

“Ah. _Warden,”_ The templar smirked condescendingly. “Another _mage._ I had seen that barrier you held up, _apostate._ ”

“An apostate is a mage who is not part of the Chantry, therefore not under your supervision, so I guess I am,” Edo smirked back. “But are you going to piss off the Grey Wardens?”

“Your abomination of a partner got away.”

“I guess hunting him down is the Templar Order’s job, isn’t it?”

The Knight-Commander tightened his jaw, and Edo’s smirk did not disappear.

“So what do you want, Grey Warden?”

“I invoke the Right of Conscription on these two mages.”

_“You cannot.”_

“That is what the _Right of Conscription_ means, that I _can,_ ” Edo snapped back. “Manjoume is strong enough to deal with abominations, and doesn’t back down. And Judai is also not possessed anymore, so…”

“That is a lie.”

“Is it?”

Edo glanced back at Judai and Manjoume also looked at him.

Judai’s face was unreadable.

“It is not,” He said softly. “The... well… It’s only me in there now.”

“The abomination _lies,”_ The Knight-Commander pressed, pointing a sword towards Judai, and Edo stepped sideways, still standing in his way. “That is a _lie."_

“He is a Warden recruit now,” Edo said simply. “We have more mages than what you think, and we may check if that is true or not. It is not your business anymore. Again, let me ask you - want to risk a conflict with the Grey Wardens, having both Saiou and me disappear in your tower?”

“You _partner_ also turned into an abomination!”

“One that all three of us fought against,” Edo agreed. “So. Untie the two of them. We have a long way to go.”

~*~

“So. Where are we going?”

“Amaranthine. The Warden-Commander of Ferelden restored a stronghold for the Wardens there. I want to avoid the strongholds in the area, because if the Knight-Commanders want to intercept us anyways, they would look for us there. You can undergo the Joining there.”

“That’s a long way.”

“Better be safe than sorry. Everyone lied a whole lot over there, including the Knight-Commander, and they would be very happy with murdering us.”

The three of them were hurrying, and Manjoume would have been floored by being _outside_ for the _first time_ since he was five, but he didn’t have time to appreciate it.

Especially when it was kind of raining, and even though it was warm rain, it was still _rain,_ and was _annoying._

He didn’t even really understand what Edo was even talking about of _Warden-Commanders_ and _strongholds_ and _Joining,_ but he understood that they had to hurry up as much as they could.

There was another thought in the back of Manjoume’s head, but he didn’t want to think about it.

Not yet.

Not yet.

Not until they actually got there.

“I’m originally from Amaranthine, I think.”

Judai’s voice was soft, and Manjoume raised his eyebrows.

“You _think?_ ”

“It was a long time ago,” Judai shook his head. “I don’t even really remember my family. Dunno if I would even recognize them.”

He couldn’t relate to it, really.

Manjoume realised that now, that if they make it to Amaranthine, he _has_ a chance to show up at his family’s doorstep, _and he would be basically untouchable._

But don’t think that far ahead.

Not yet.

~*~

They arrived at the Vimmark Mountains, and set up camp for the night in one of the caves for the night.

Manjoume and Judai were… not really used to walking this much, not through this heavy terrain, and really, it was just tiring.

“So. How come a mage pretends to be a rogue?”

“I told you. Because otherwise it would be too obvious.”

With that, Edo took one of his daggers, handing it over to Manjoume.

Manjoume took it, and looked at it close, but really, he had no idea what he was looking for, not like he was used to weapons other than his staff.

“The hilt of these are made of the same material that is used to make a mage’s staff,” Edo explained. “That… helps me focus my power.”

“Okay. That is one secret down,” Manjoume gave back the blade, and tried to ignore Edo’s fingers brushing by his. “You have plenty more, Edo Phoenix.”

“I do,” Edo admitted, with a sly smile. “Maybe if we will all be Wardens, together, I will tell you. If you survive the Joining, that is.”

“Now that’s just unfair,” Manjoume grinned. “After all we’ve been through together you would let us die without knowing your secrets?”

“With no problems.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Judai said playfully. “I think you would have regrets. But anyway, all we need to do, is to survive, right?”

“Right,” Edo nodded. “You don’t seem to be shaken by the idea that you could die during the Joining.”

“We had been waiting for the Harrowing throughout our time in the Circle,” Manjoume said bitterly. “Not everyone comes back from there. Doesn’t take long to put it together.”

Edo nodded again, before walking closer to Judai, looking up at him.

“And you… better keep it quiet around the Wardens, about Yubel. Not everyone there is as open-thinking about these things. Our best bet is to keep saying you resisted their possession, and pushed them out of your body. Understand?”

Judai nodded.

“...you did save my life. Our lives.”

“I know.”

Judai kissed Edo, and Manjoume couldn’t look away. He figured he should have been… what? Annoyed? Jealous? Of what?

Edo kissed him back, pushing himself to his tiptoes, so he could keep Judai there, before opening one of his eyes, looking at Manjoume, and he was hoping he wasn’t blushing.

“You two are the worst. ”

“Want yours, Manjoume?” Judai asked playfully, and Edo smirked.

“I think he might.”

“You annoying, stuck-up…” Manjoume really couldn’t find the words to convey how much he _hated_ Edo Phoenix and his secrets.

So he just crossed the distance between them, and kissed him so hard it was almost painful.

That was close enough, right?

It wasn’t like they were completely away from danger yet, and won’t be for a while. Even if they make it to Amaranthine, even if they survive this Joining, Edo was clear about how dangerous a Grey Warden’s life was, and Saiou did get away from the Circle, and Manjoume had a hunch that Edo wasn’t going to let the templars be the one to track him down.

In a way, their future was still as uncertain and dangerous as before.

But they were _free._

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, comments are very welcome!


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